If you search your ancestors in Volterra, in the province of Pisa, Toscana region, the documents about your Italian family are stored in the City Office archives and in the parishes in the town.This is where to start your family history research.
Civil Records in Volterra
In towns and villages of Toscana and in Pisa province registry offices were established in 1809: it means that you could find your ancestors records in Volterra town hall archives as of that date.
(If your goal is to get your Italian Citizenship and you need official certificates from Volterra, please follow this link)
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So, if your ancestors lived in Volterra during the past centuries, then you should start your family research from the City Office of Volterra to know more: our local expert is ready to help you in your research!
Otherwise, if you think to contact the town hall by yourself, we suggest you to read our tips for your search. They are useful advices to search in Toscana and of course in Volterra too!
Next picture shows the demographic trends in Volterra from the Italian Unification (1861).
This is a necessary info to understand how many people lived in the town in the past.
To go on quickly in your research is important to know if the last name you are investigating is a frequent surname in Volterra. As more your surname is common, as more it could be difficult to find the right branch of your ancestors family in Volterra archives, expecially if you have not exact dates.
It could be useful for you to know that some of the most common surnames in Reggio Calabria province are:
Agostino, Albanese, Barbaro, Barreca, Battaglia, Calabrò, Carbone, Caridi, Catalano, Chirico, Commisso, Costantino, Crea, D’Agostino, Ferraro, Foti, Giordano, Iaria, Labate, Laganà, Latella, Lombardo, Longo, Macrì, Malara, Marino, Marra, Martino, Minniti, Modafferi, Morabito, Musolino, Napoli, Neri, Nucera, Panetta, Polimeni, Quattrone, Raso, Romeo, Russo, Scopelliti, Sergi, Siclari, Spanò, Surace, Tripodi, Zappia.
Church Records in Volterra
Church archives in Pisa province may store even older information. You will find religious records of the same events (births, marriages and deaths) but, most important, you could go further back in time!
So in case you would like to go back in centuries, it’s good for you to know that the parish registers in Toscana started during 1500!
They are far less accessible expecially from abroad and very hard to read and decipher if you are not used and skilled.
But our local genealogists, are graduated in history and archivistics so, with their expertise, they can research the church registers of Volterra on your behalf.
In case you want to visit churches, these are the addresses of parishes active today in Volterra:
S. PIETRO IN S. LAZZARO – 56048 VOLTERRA PI
S. OTTAVIANO – – Prato d’ Era
S. MARTINO VESCOVO – Roncolla
S. LORENZO MARTIRE – 56048 MAZZOLLA PI
S. JACOPO APOSTOLO – 56048 VOLTERRA PI
S. GIUSTO – Borgo San Giusto
S. GIROLAMO – 56048 VOLTERRA PI
S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA DECOLLATO – 56048 VILLAMAGNA PI
S. CIPRIANO – San Cipriano
S. ALESSANDRO – 56048 VOLTERRA PI
SANTI IPPOLITO E CASSIANO – Sensano
SANTI PIETRO E LEOPOLDO – 56048 SALINE PI
Anyway for our experience, if you plan to come here, we always suggest to start the research months before the arrival.
In this way you will avoid to waste your holidays in the offices or in the churches dealing with italian bureaucracy .
(Remember that archives are not open to public and officers and priests are not required by law to give you access to the local archives)
With the results gathered by our genealogist before your arrival, you will have more free time to visit the town and surroundings on your ancestors footsteps.
Another important source of information are the notary documents available to expert researchers in the State Archives.
If you need a professional help from our local genealogist in Volterra area , write to volterra@italianside.com or fill the form here.
Our expert will study your request and will reply to you with a plan and a quote for your family research.
If you want to read this page in other languages:
– Italiano
– Espanol
– Portuguese
Here below you can read the messages received from other visitors in Volterra forum:
if you only want to discuss with other people interested in genealogy in Volterra feel free to leave a message below.
I am looking for the ancestors of my grandmother, Rose Bruschi, possibly Rosina Bruschi. I was told she lived in Pisa, Italy, but it may have been Volterra. She was born, I believe, in 1899 or 1900 and she may have actually been born in New York. However, the story goes that she lived with her grandparents, whose last name was Bruschi…..Albino Bruschi. My gr grandfather’s name was Emilio.
So it would be Albino (father), Emilio (son) Rose (daughter of Emilio). I know that Emilio came to America and settled in San Francisco and that my grandmother, Rose, came to America possibly when she was a teenager (after at least one of her grandparents died) ….. We believe she lived with her father in San Francisco for a time but then went into a Catholic facility for girls…..found her name in a St Katherine’s in San Francisco, CA. She was there at 19, left not long after and went to work as a house cleaner and baby sitter. That’s where she met and married my grandfather, Edwin Daniel Hanford. They had five children, the second of which was my father, Preston McKay Hanford. I am Preston’s first child. If you could help me in any way too find her grandparents’ information and even back further, I would greatly appreciate it. We are planning a trip to Italy next year. I would love to find out who they were, where they were from, and actually visit and get copies of whatever records there are. Thank you so much for your assistance. Again, thank you so much.